A lot of English football fans and journalists are quite blinkered in their view of foreign football leagues and their teams, not me.
I love watching the other big leagues around the world especially La Liga and Serie A.
The standards of play in La Liga is usually really high but Serie A has slipped in recent years.
Trouble
I know that the Premier League isn’t the only league in town and don’t try hide my admiration for other leagues in world football. My fascination for football means I watch every match I can and in recent months have seen a lot of La Liga side Villarreal.
They have quite frankly been awful. Their recent La Liga form improved slightly with a win at home to Rayo Vallecano at the weekend. However they are still in the bottom half of the La Liga table and it looks like they could struggle.
To be facing Premier League leaders Manchester City in the Champions League is definitely not what Villarreal need right now. They need to beat the English side to have any realistic chance of progression into the knockout stages.
Injuries
To add to Villarreal’s form woes they also now have a an injury list which would make most hospitals weep. They are down to the barebones of their squad. The biggest loss to the Yellow Submarine has to be star striker and top scorer Giuseppe Rossi, who could face six months out of action after picking up a knee injury against Real Madrid.
Rossi’s usual striker partner Nilmar will also be missing from their squad along with midfielders Cani and Marcos Senna. And the most recent defender Cristian Zapata picked up an injury earlier in the week which will keep him out for five weeks.
It sounds like Villarreal boss Juan Carlos Garrido will have trouble even finding eleven fit players to put on the pitch to face City. He has had to draft in young strikers Joselu and Adolfo Enriquez from the B and C team for tonight’s clash. Not an ideal situation for the under-pressure boss.
Opportunity
The El Madrigal is a hard stadium to visit normally but this is an opportunity for Manchester City to gain three crucial points. City were poor when the Spaniards came to the Etihad Stadium but snatched a late winner.
However City can go at Villarreal from the start of this match and send out a signal of intent to group rivals Napoli and Bayern. A message that tells them that Manchester City are very much still in this group and want top spot.
Momentum
Manchester City have built up some good winning momentum in recent weeks and confidence is high within the camp. They have been winning and scoring goals. Its important for both their Champions League and Premier League ambitions that they keep their current form going.
Rotation
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini even has the chance for a bit of squad rotation tonight, because if they can’t win against what’s left of Villarreal’s first team then they don’t deserve to be in the Champions League.
Mancini has at his disposal a squad most managers could only dream of and has to use it to the best of his ability.
Complacent
Having said that Villarreal are in poor form and are missing lots of players Manchester City need to beware of complacency. As Villarreal proved in the first game at the Etihad Stadium they are no mugs but circumstances have conspired against them with so many key players out injured.
Victory
I fully expect Manchester City to claim victory tonight. The Citizens are desperately in need of victory and I don’t think they will miss this opportunity for three points. A victory would put them back in contention for top spot in the what was dubbed the Champions League ‘Group of Death’ before the competition began.
Top spot would mean that City may avoid some of the bigger guns until the quarter-finals stage. However as the saying goes if you want to be the best you have to beat the best. That’s for the future though for now City need to concentrate on winning in Spain this evening and gaining three points.
Will Manchester City claim victory at El Madrigal?
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